But what should that bedtime be, exactly? A bedtime that’s too early may result in early-morning waking and screwy naps, but a too-late bedtime may make your baby overtired, which can lead to a whole host of sleep woes.

Not to worry, parents – as usual, we have the information you need! We’ve even organized it for you and everything – and we’ve made it printable! Stick this on your baby’s bedroom wall, put a copy in your diaper bag to reference when you’re traveling, hand it out to friends at your morning moms’ group – you get the idea! Scroll down to find out how you can get a printable PDF version of this chart.

Baby and Toddler Bedtimes By Age

Age

Total Sleep

Avg. Wake Time*

Bedtime

Notes

Newborn

15-18 hours

Varies

N/A

Newborns need to eat frequently and will wake round the clock to feed, so a fixed bedtime is obsolete at this age. Watch your baby’s sleep cues closely, and put down for sleep at the first signs of tiredness.

User the later bedtime for younger babies. By 3 or 4 months, you can gradually shift to using the earlier bedtime, as your baby (hopefully!) starts to sleep for one longer stretch at night.

4-8 Months

14-15 hours

Average wake time is 2-3 hours

6-7:30 p.m.

Most babies are ready for a predictable schedule by about 6 months. Regular naps emerge at this time (4 naps at first, and then gradually moves to 3 naps). Use the earlier bedtime during the transition from 4 naps to 3, to ward off over tiredness.

Stick with 2 naps, if possible; most babies aren’t ready to transition to one nap until 15-18 months. If your baby goes through the 12 month nap regression, use the earlier bedtime to make up for lost nap sleep.

15 Months-3 Years

12-14 hours

Average awake time is about 5 hours

6-8 p.m.

Your toddler will transition to needing just one afternoon nap by about 18 months. That nap should be about 2-2.5 hours in length. Use the earlier bedtime during the transition from 2 naps to 1, and during the 18 month and 2 year sleep regressions, to make up for any lost sleep. By 2 years of age, you should start using 7:00 as your earliest bedtime; the 6:00 bedtime is more appropriate for younger toddlers.

3-5 Years

11-13 hours

Average awake time is about 12 hours, if toddler/preschooler is no longer napping

7-8:30 p.m.

Most children give up the afternoon nap at this stage. Substitute an afternoon rest time in for the nap time. Try to time bedtime so that you allow for roughly 12 hours of night sleep, for children who are no longer napping. Use the later bedtime for children who are still transitioning away from the afternoon nap.

*Average Wake Time refers to the amount of time your baby or toddler is able to comfortably stay awake during the day, between naps.

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Have questions about bedtime, or tips for other parents? Leave them below, and let’s get the conversations started!

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Comments

Julessays

Hi, my twins are 21 months. They sleep from 8 pm-7am. They use to sleep 12 hours+ during the night and their naps are also getting shorter and shorter. I put them to nap around 1 pm and they sleep for approximately one hour. Is there anything I can do to lengthen their sleep during the night and their nap? Should I adjust their sleep times? Thanks

Emily DeJeusays

@ Jules – Honestly, the schedule you describe sounds perfect to me. If you add up the sleep totals, it’s 12 hours, and that is great for 21 months. I don’t think you have a problem here that requires work. That said, if you’d like more down time during the day, you could always institute some quiet play time before or after the nap; you could do the same before bedtime. My family and I used “quiet play time” with our kids when they were toddlers; they had to play quietly in their bedrooms for a bit. This gave me a much-needed break mid-day.

Hope this helps, Jules! Best of luck to you.

Sophia’s Baby Sleep Story

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